UEFA could ban clubs riddled with debt
Reuters - Wednesday 08 October 2008, 11:48
LONDON - UEFA shares the growing concern
about spiralling debt in football and has set up a working party
to investigate ways of controlling it, general secretary David
Taylor said on Wednesday.
Taylor was speaking a day after David Triesman, chairman of
the Football Association, said that English clubs had amassed
debts of around three billion pounds ($5.2 billion), that
transparency in the game "lies in an unmarked grave" and that
even the biggest clubs were not immune from collapse.
"I was very pleased to see the statements from Lord Triesman
and we also believe that the European Union shares many of our
ideals about the self-regulation of sport in a free market,"
Taylor said.
He told the Leaders in Football conference at Chelsea's
Stamford Bridge ground that a working party would meet for the
first time next week to begin investigating the issue.
"This is an attempt to find greater financial stability,
especially at a time when banks are failing. Governments might
bail out banks but they are not going to bail out a football
club," he said.
"The current system needs to be looked at, it needs more
transparency. We need to look at which areas we regulate to
ensure the long-term stability of the clubs.
"It is not something that will happen overnight, we are
still at the stage of investigating and developing solutions,
but we are concerned about the longer term."
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Taylor said that UEFA was a long way from coming up with any
concrete proposals but was likely to favour an extension or
revision of its current licensing system whereby clubs have to
satisfy various off-field criteria before being allowed to take
part in Europe's club competitions.
He also echoed Triesman in dismissing the current "fit and
proper persons" test for ownership as of little use in
establishing the financial credentials of people looking to take
over clubs.
"We showed with club licensing that these things can spread
through UEFA leadership, starting with our own competitions,"
said Taylor, formerly head of the Scottish FA.
Ultimately, as with the current licensing system, clubs
could be barred from entering the Champions League if they
failed to comply with the rules but that would be an extremely
unlikely situation.
"We welcome investment in football but we want stronger
roots for that investment and this is an attempt to find greater
stability," Taylor said.
"Many new owners or investors are not giving gifts to clubs.
In most cases they are loans and ultimately the club is indebted
to its benefactor.
"There are no solutions yet but we are all convinced
something needs to be done."
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